...And the Beast from the Sea

In July 2015, NBC announced that the eleventh episode of the season would be titled "...And the Beast from the Sea", with executive producer Steve Lightfoot and series creator Bryan Fuller writing the episode and Michael Rymer directing. This was Fuller's 31st writing credit, Lightfoot's 19th writing credit, and Rymer's 8th directing credit.[1]

The episode was watched by 1.03 million viewers, earning a 0.3/1 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 1 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.[2] This was a slight increase from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.01 million viewers with a 0.3/1 in the 18-49 demographics.[3] With these ratings, Hannibal ranked third on its timeslot and eighth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind a NCIS: Los Angeles rerun, a Beyond the Tank rerun, a 2015 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships game, Boston EMS, a America's Funniest Home Videos rerun, a Criminal Minds rerun, and 48 Hours.

With DVR factored, the episode was watched with a 0.4 on the 18-49 demo.[4]

"...And the Beast from the Sea" received critical acclaim. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9.2 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict: "This week's Hannibal continued to offer a lot of thrills and disturbing moments, while also offering a surprise for those of us thinking we were getting a pretty straightforward Red Dragon adaption. Now that the book's ending has been told, how will Dolarhyde's attacks culminate here? It's an exciting question."[5]

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" and wrote, "'...And The Beast From The Sea' shows the latest consequences of this distraction: Molly and Walter stalked in their home after Hannibal gives Francis Dolarhyde Will's home address. Hannibal gives Will his usual oblique clues in the days leading up to the attack, clues which Will misses, and which then reinforce Hannibal's own sense of superiority. It's a bit like making a game, telling no one the rules, and patting yourself on the back every time you win like it's a genuine achievement. Or at least it would be if the fools around him weren't such obvious gluttons for punishment."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "This was another winner overall, with Richard Armitage continuing to bring both Dolarhyde and the Dragon to life with his intense physicality. Because we have such a history with Hannibal, it would be easy for Dolarhyde to feel like a distraction, or a plot device to force Will and Hannibal to resume their interactions. But Armitage and the way Fuller, Lightfoot and company have chosen to represent Dolarhyde's madness make him every bit as compelling as our two main characters."[7] Mark Rozeman of Paste gave the episode a 9.5 out of 10 and wrote, "In any case, Hannibal continues its streak of greatness with '...And the Beast from the Sea.'"[8] Jeff Stone of IndieWire gave the episode an "A-" and wrote, "Since there's no equivalent scene in 'Red Dragon', there's a strong sense that anything could happen. It's well within the realm of possibility."[9]

Brian Moylan of The Guardian wrote, "Taking the novels of Thomas Harris and stripping them for emotionally wrenching, deeply disturbing parts and tossing out the rest, showrunner Bryan Fuller has managed to evade most of the big traps of simply translating prose into film. The past few episodes have seen the stretching of that approach, however, as the show finally, squarely, and perhaps too directly, hits the territory of Harris's novels – specifically Red Dragon."[10] Keith Staskiewicz of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "'Don't you crave change, Will?' Hannibal asks. Because that's what Hannibal offers: He is chaos, he is entropy. He knows how to be the change he wants to see in the world, and the change he wants to see is terrifying."[11] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine wrote, "'...And the Beast from the Sea' is structured as a perverse quasi romantic farce, in which two working-class guys are pitted against one another by a rarefied man who literally lives in a gilded cage."[12]

Greg Cwik of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "There are so many winks, nods, and jabs in 'And the Beast From the Sea', you might feel bruised by the end. But it works."[13] Kayti Burt of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Hannibal no doubt still has plans for Dolarhyde. By not cooperating with the FBI, he loses the amenities and frills that made his prison cell 'comfortable'. What would he risk that for? While Will is 'just about worn out with you crazy sons of bitches', Hannibal, too, seems to be growing tired of the current rules of this game. With only two episodes left of this season and show, something tells me those rules are about to be changed."[14] Robin Harry of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Oh, the emotions that '...And the Beast From the Sea' made me feel. In yet another fantastic outing, this show laid every character bare and managed to raise my blood pressure doing it. If I had a crate full of Emmys, I would just go to the Hannibal set and hand them out to each actor who had a part in this hour. They all nailed it sooo hard."[15]

Emma Dibdin of Digital Spy wrote, "In his eagerness to be steered and corrupted, Francis is the student Hannibal wished Will could have been, but has he really given up on corrupting Will? Maybe Hannibal sent Dolarhyde after Will's family banking on the idea that having lost them, Will would finally succumb to his own darkness, and complete the transformation he started all those years ago."[16] Adam Lehrer of Forbes wrote, "At the mid-way point of the season, when the plot jumped ahead three years and The Red Dragon plot line initiated, Hannibal's role as the primary antagonist wasn't removed but altered. He is still the Master of Puppets and pulling all of the strings, but just because he is evil doesn't mean he is wrong. Hannibal believes people should act on their wills and be true to themselves, and that is exactly what he brings out of his former friend and his new pupil."[17] Britt Hayes of ScreenCrush wrote, "A horrible line may have been crossed into Will’s persona life, but even he admits — openly — that he cannot go home. It’s not just the need to capture the Red Dragon; it’s Will’s obsession with the work and his attraction to men like Hannibal. He’s just drawn to the worst kinds of men."[18]